Evelyn
by Teafully
Summary: After a heroic rescue from the filth that she called home, she showed up on the Sawada doorstep with a stuffed bear, chewing on its ear with tears brimming her deep, sad blue eyes. Trust is not something that comes easily to one who has risen themselves to live without it. AU-ish but with canon. Rated T-M for some themes and underlying issues. The cover does not belong to me.
1. The Discovery

Yet another story that I'm starting… hm. I was wide awake with this idea, so I hope you guys like it. I went crazy with this idea and I thought "This is it!", so I hope it lives up to my (and your) expectations!

Don't forget to favorite/follow/do-whatever-you-do/review, yeah?

~Let's do this~

* * *

Chapter 1: The Discovery

Screams echoed up and down the dark hallways where she was kept, waiting her turn like the rest of the patients.

Tears streamed down her face and onto the animal in her lap as a storm raged outside of the cell window, getting the floor wet like it always did when it rained.

Her tiny hands grasped the bear as the voice of someone she didn't even know ran through her head.

_If you ever feel anything, bite down hard on it, and you will be relieved._

"It hurts," the small, pale girl whispered as she brought her nearly-completely developed teeth to the ear of the bear and bit down as hard as she could.

"_Shut up in there!"_ The loud voice of the warden boomed down the hall and echoed out of the window, letting those sound waves echo throughout every cell, including hers.

"Patient 919; ready for your daily mystery bath, little shit?"

The sound of that voice alone was enough to make the little girl soil her white, patient robe as those dark eyes set themselves on her from the heavily locked door.

The mystery bath. The girl had already distinguished that her mystery bath would be for longer than she could stand and that the choices were either scalding or below freezing… and she wouldn't be the one to choose.

"…"

"Come on, you psychotic piece of shit, it's your turn. Put that fucking animal on the bed and come back for it, or I'll tear it limb from limb. Your stupid parents died giving you that thing and now you're here, and I'll make sure you have no connection to anything if you keep this shit up."

The warden, a large, busty woman with ugly curly hair and a scrunched up nose, was the one being that haunted her nightmares. Those beady, dark eyes and demonic behavior toward everyone that she came into contact with were the scariest things on Earth.

As usual, the small girl stood on shaky feet, but refused to let go of her precious bear.

A swift and painful slap came from the hands of the burly warden and the girl staggered back a few feet and bit her bear's ear to keep from crying any more than she already was, but promptly made her way out of the door, protecting the bear from the hands of the disgusting woman.

The long hallway was dark, damp, and smelled like rotting corpses, which the girl had learned that they kept those in the floor beneath, just so the patients could smell what death was like as a warning.

"Keep it moving, 919! We don't have all day!"

The girl jumped at the sound of that intimidating voice again and kept walking, her bare feet scraping against the grimy concrete, leaving a mystery sludge between her toes. The sound of screaming and moaning was unbearable yet unnoticeable. If it sounded especially pained, it hurt to think about, but if it was constant, it slowly faded into the background of this life.

At the end of the hallway, there was a door with more liquid, of which was warm to the touch.

The bath must be ready.

The girl whimpered as she cowered away from the door, shaking her head and her limbs began to quake with the muscle memory of both types of ordeals.

"Go in there or I'll fucking lynch you right here, 919!"

The girl's brilliant blue eyes darted around the hallway, looking for an escape from the torment that was her existence.

"Get the hell in the room, you _fucking_ little shit!" That woman grabbed the small, pale girl's wrist and forced her into the room, swearing all the way there.

The pale girl nearly fell onto her face underneath the fluorescent lights that beat down on her paper-white skin and her equally pale hair. Her breathing intensified as she approached the tub full of water, of which had steam coming off of it this time.

_Hot bath._

She flinched away from it, biting down as hard as she could on the bear's ear and began to audibly gasp for air as she tried her hardest not to start to cry. If she did, she would be beaten black and blue just like that one time… and she swore, never again.

"Why, hello. What's your name?"

A smooth face met hers and she flinched away from the deceptiveness in the man's gaze. She'd never seen him before; the one who usually bathed her was nowhere in the small, lit room.

"A-ha!"

The smooth-faced man and his unusual hat pointed at a clipboard with the girl's picture on it and patient number.

"Your name is Evelyn, right? Little Evie? You're only five years old and your birthday is April 4th."

The girl only shrugged, biting down on the bear again. She had no idea she even had an age or even a name other than 919, so if that was what she was to be called, that was it.

"Why are you in a place like this? Aren't your parents worried about you?"

The girl, rather, Evelyn, shook her head. Her short, damaged hair flew in and out of her huge blue eyes.

"I see. Well, I'm here to get you out. You won't be taking any baths today."

His large hand flashed toward Evelyn, but she quickly ran to a corner of the room, biting the bear again.

"You don't trust me? We have to go, and I'll make sure you get out of here so that you never have to see that woman again. I can only do that if you fully trust me."

Evelyn shook her small head, clutching onto her stuffed bear for dear life.

"I've been smuggling people out of here for a long time now; it's my secondary hobby. Why do you think they have less people to pick on now?"

Evelyn's colorless face grew wider at the prospect of being able to escape, but what if they were caught? She would be killed for sure; that scary lady would tear her apart and eat her for breakfast, Evelyn was sure of it.

"Okay, I want you to get into this bag and lay as still as you can so that we can get out of here."

Evelyn looked to and from the man and the bag; she was used being deceived and she was so sure that that was what this man with the odd-looking hat and mysterious demeanor was trying to do… but there was nothing in his body language that told her that she should be careful.

* * *

"Shit!"

Evelyn squirmed inside the body bag that she was put into. It smelled clean, unlike anything else inside of that wretched place that she called home as the man who had helped her flung her onto a comfortable surface, slamming something.

She then heard a screech; a terrible one, one that made even her insides cringe as she swung to the left.

"Evie; are you alright in there?"

The man sounded out of breath, and Evelyn grunted to make herself heard to soothe his worry. Though, Evelyn kept biting onto that bear's dark, furry ear to calm herself down. Wherever she was, it was dark and the raging storm outside was overhead and she was rapidly swinging from side-to-side.

Evelyn whimpered and held the bear tighter, feeling tears stream down her face.

"Evie, it's okay! We're almost there, just give me a moment, okay?"

Even the reassuring words weren't enough for Evelyn as she began to squirm nervously again and squeezing the hell out of her bear; not only was she afraid, but she was tired and hungry.

"Shit!" The man swore again, making Evelyn rocket forward and almost into a hole of oblivion of which she recovered from and got back onto the comfortable place as the man swore again and again… over and over.

What if he was just like them?

Whatever was happening, it came to a stop and Evelyn rocketed forward, her hair getting into her eyes and she squeaked.

"Evie, Evie, okay…" The man must have picked up the bag because now Evelyn could feel cold liquid running down her back, getting onto her feet and she used her body to shield the bear from such an atrocity. "Evie, wait here for a moment and get out and go to the door of the place sitting in front of you. I have to go. Your new family will love you."

New family, what was he-?

Evelyn fell back first into the mud and she heard that horrible screeching sound again as the man's presence slowly left her. Though she waited silently, covering her mouth with her bear and clutching it as more things screeched by, she realized two different categories of her dilemma:

One, she was free from that horrid place with that horrid lady and the horrid stench of death, piss, and fear.

Two, she had no idea where she was, who saved her, or what he meant by his final words.

* * *

"Tsu-kuuuun! Are you ready for dinner? We'll be having chicken teriyaki today!"

Sawada Nana called upstairs to her small, six-year-old son, Tsuna. That child had been extra shy today, and hadn't come downstairs other than to get a glass of water at three o'clock. However, when Nana had gone in to check on him, he was only playing with his toys and shyly blushed when he found out she had been watching him do so.

Nana let her lithe fingers slide over a dirty dish that she had attempted to clean multiple times that same day, but the stains had refused to wash out, no matter how many times she resulted to scrubbing it barbarically.

"Tsu-kun! You don't want your dinner getting cold!"

"I-I'm coming, Kaa-san…!"

The stairs thumped as a small figure with brown hair as high as the sky slammed down onto the wooden floor below. A few lights shook with the sudden force, giving Nana a moment to stare at the small blush on her son's face.

"Kaa-san, hungry!"

"Your plate is right over there," Nana pointed over to the small table in the middle of the kitchen with one single plate sitting in the middle of the table, adjacent from an identical one.

One miniscule drop of water hit the window as Nana glanced outside, to which she clicked her tongue.

"Rain…"

She had been expecting it all day, and of course, right when she had decided into tending to her garden at the end of the day… at least she needn't do it anymore.

"Sky is crying? Kaa-san?"

Tsuna asked with his tiny little mouth full, desperately trying to keep the food inside.

Nana let out a small giggle at her son; if only Iemitsu could see him now. He hadn't come home for months now, hadn't he?

A frown slowly replaced Nana's initially gleeful demeanor and she stared down at the food on her own plate after leaving her post at the sink.

"Kaa-san?" Tsuna snapped his mother out of her somber stare at her full plate.

"A-ah, yes, Tsu-kun! The sky is crying because… crying is good for everyone sometimes!"

Nana watched Tsuna's face light up like it did whenever he learned new information or heard something good and he dug back into his dinner, watching the window where the wind blew leaves all over the yard and into other yards.

The tapping got louder and louder until it shut the silent communication between mother and son was blocked out just by the wind alone.

Without warning, over the sound of hard rain, Tsuna hopped up from his seat at the table.

"I go play, Kaa-san!"

"Okay, Tsu-kun," Nana smiled to him as he turned and raced up the stairs again, trying to hide his trademark blush. "Tell me when you're ready for bed so I can come upstairs and read you a bedtime story!"

Nana let out a sigh and began to clean up, realizing that she had no personal appetite. Heck, it was difficult raising a child all by herself and it was even more stressful to think that her spouse was off doing who-knows-what.

She let out a long sigh and began to clean up the kitchen, putting dishes into the sink hearing them clang together in the large, empty house.

Though, the echoing sound of crying slowly reached her ears and she put the dishes down immediately.

"Tsu-kun?"

"Kaa-san?"

Nana giggled; she thought it was cute when Tsuna asked her name whenever she asked his, but the matter at hand was that she could hear crying, but it obviously wasn't her Tsuna.

"Where is that coming from? Did someone leave their child outside?"

Being the worried mother that she was, Nana pulled back her brown hair to prepare herself to look outside, with which there was thunder and lightning beginning to make its introduction into the storm.

The crying continued and got louder into wailing as Nana looked down to see a small girl sitting on the porch, holding a stuffed bear to her chest and biting it.

"Aww… are you lost?"

The girl could hardly even breathe, let alone speak coherent words or even comprehend words.

Nana looked to her left and to her right; this little girl was getting soaked and looked lost without anyone in sight. Let alone the thought of a poor child outside in the rain all alone…

_I guess that's why I donate to every commercial for those poor children…_

Nana thought to herself as she stepped out into the rain and brought her hand to the girl's face; it was awfully pale and she looked malnourished and underfed, and when the girl opened her eyes long enough to register what was going on, she flinched away from Nana's hand.

"Here; I'll let you stay inside for a while."

* * *

Why would a child named Evelyn be in Japan? Who knows, yeah?

What'd you think? Did you like how I went about it? Let me know! Leave me a review and I'll answer it next chapter, okay?

By the way, I suggest you take a quick look at my other story, Flowers. I'm quite proud of it, and I'm proud of this one, too! :DDDD

~Teafully~


	2. Who're You?

Wow, so how'd you guys like last chapter? I'm still pretty new (sorta) to this writing in third person and it's bothering me, so… my bad, I apologize q-q

I got five reviews last chapter… hehe ^-^ Thank you so much, guys!

(By the way, chapter two and the title of the chapter rhyme and I feel so good about that)

~Agoo~ (THIS RHYMES TOO OMFG)

* * *

_Flashback:_

"_Here; I'll let you stay inside for a while."_

Chapter 2: Who're You?

Nana ushered in the soaking, crying child with a bear in her arms inside and observed how truly pale she really was. Her skin was clear, yet it was as if she had never seen the light of day for a moment in her life.

"Here, come into the living room," Nana's hand flashed toward Evelyn again, prompting her to shoot back in panic, but obey the suggestion. The girl hobbled on her feet and stared around the room, almost as if she'd never seen one like it before.

"Are you lost?"

Nana asked her softly, prompting the girl to turn to her and bite on the bear that she held. The girl whined and looked around anxiously, and Nana's facial features softened.

"I know!" Nana snapped her fingers and started up the stairs. "We'll get you out of those, um, clothes," she stared at her hospital-looking gown and back to her small face. "And then I'll get you all cleaned up with a bath!"

At the mention of the word, Evelyn's eyes widened and she backed away, biting into the stuffed animal that she held onto so tightly. More tears began to form in her eyes as she rubbed them away with her hands and let out a small whimper.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Nana coaxed, holding out her hand and approaching the girl slowly. "What's your name?"

The girl stared up at her, her chest rapidly pumping up and down in fear.

"Evelyn."

Nana smiled endearingly at little Evelyn, causing the girl to take her mouth from her stuffed bear's ear.

"That's a cute name! It's alright; I'm not going to hurt you. I want to help you."

Evelyn did not smile or even change her expression from the current, stoic one that she possessed at this moment. The clock could be heard ticking slowly in the background and the rain pounded upon the house, adding to the strangeness of the child's behavior.

* * *

Nana motioned at the full tub of water for the little girl to get in, but she refused; retreating to the corner and crying her eyes out.

"Please, Evelyn; you're filthy, you need a bath."

"No more baths… no more baths…"

Evelyn nearly chanted, her blue eyes turning bloodshot around their rims and scrunching up in distaste. Her pale, naked body shone in the single light in the bathroom, making Evelyn glow mysteriously.

"Okay, come here," Nana outstretched her arms to Evelyn, nearly missing and catching her by a hair. The little girl began to scream, echoing through the entire house.

"_Tsu-kun heard that…_"

Nana thought, placing the screeching child into the water as she clutched her dark, stuffed bear for dear life as she closed her eyes shut as tight as she could.

"That's a cute little bear you have there, Evelyn," Nana observed as Evelyn looked up at her. "What's its name?"

Evelyn shook in her own skin, disrupting the calm water, but she did manage to answer in a small, unsure voice:

"Kuma."

The bath seemed to be making Evelyn uneasy, and she looked the part by clutching the bear as Nana grabbed a blue wash cloth and put soap all over it.

"Where are your parents, sweetie?" She asked, but the girl declined to give an answer as she squeezed the animal helplessly and flinched as she stared at the water.

It went completely silent for a few minutes… maybe even more than that, as Nana reached toward her face with the soapy cloth, which triggered a flinch-like reaction that the girl displayed.

"Don't move; I'm just trying to clean you!" Nana was exasperated now; what was this child's problem and why did she recoil away as if she was holding some poison?

Evelyn looked up at her with obvious fear in her eyes as she continued to cry.

Nana frowned; who were her parents and were they treating her badly?

* * *

"Kaa-san?"

Little Tsuna searched the hallways and the kitchen for his mother, who had seemed to go missing in such a short amount of time.

"Kaa-san?" He asked again, shaking his head back and forth until he decided to go back upstairs to look for her there.

Tsuna walked down the hallway and could hear her humming happily as she normally would do in the evenings in her master bedroom. He ventured up to the door that was ajar and peeked in to see his mother and an unfamiliar girl.

"Oh, Tsu-kun! Hello, come on in and meet Evelyn!"

Tsuna watched his mother brush the unknown girl's hair like he had been replaced, but nonetheless crept up to her, slightly curious of what made her so special to his mother.

Evelyn met his eyes and flinched away, surprised, making a squeaking noise as she nearly fell off of the chair that she was seated in.

"Kaa-san?!" Tsuna asked, flying backward himself as the mysterious girl put the stuffed bear to her face again and began to rapidly chew on its ear.

Nana smiled and gestured to Evelyn again, whose eyes seemed to widen with every moment that she was put into the spotlight and she began to fidget and squirm in place.

"Hold still! I'm almost done, then you two can get acquainted with each other."

Evelyn made a shy eye-contact with the brown-haired child, who cowered behind the door and only peeked back out to look at her occasionally. Though she was interested and the feeling at the bottom of her stomach yearned for more human contact, she couldn't trust him.

Not even the nice lady who had bothered with her.

She was not able to trust anyone yet, until they proved themselves to her that they were not a threat to her safety.

* * *

Evelyn sat on the guest bedroom floor, playing with the soft blue carpet that was beneath her. The bright color caught her attention and the warmth of the room had drawn her in immediately.

Even though little Evelyn could not smile, she could not giggle nor laugh, she felt her gut smile through her stoic manner.

The nice lady had left her alone for the first time in forever and she was allowed to sit in silence and listen to the rain pound down onto the roof and down the window without coming into the room and soiling the floor like she was so used to.

"Who're you?"

The voice jerked Evelyn into an upright position as her defense mechanism kicked in, resulting in her holding Kuma as close to her as she possibly could.

"Evelyn."

That's how she had identified herself, even though she was so used to being called '919'.

"Oh…" The brown-haired boy stared at her from just beyond the door, managing to scratch his cheek and give her a bashful look. "I'm Tsuna!"

A smile threw Evelyn off-guard, causing her to get up from her place on the ground and crawl up onto the huge bed in the room that had a blue cover over it.

She couldn't let her guard down and trust him, not yet. He could be dangerous.

"Do you want to play a game with me?" Tsuna asked her, nervously glancing around and fiddling with his fingers.

Evelyn brought Kuma's ear up to her mouth again as she thought over her options. What could this boy do to hurt her? He didn't look anything like that scary warden, did he?

"What game?" Evelyn asked between chewing on Kuma's ear.

"Hide-and-seek; it's a game that I… I've never really played it before aside from school… it's no fun by yourself…"

Evelyn thought about that for a long moment, carefully weighing her options; should she play with him and risk getting hurt like she had back in her cell… or would she stay in her room all by herself, wondering if she would have to go back to that cell of hers.

"…if you want me to," Evelyn decided as she rolled off of the bed, slowly advancing toward Tsuna, ready to defend herself if he wasn't the person that she thought he was.

The fear of a kid who was merely a year older than her slowly dissipated as he smiled at her and began to tell her the rules. Suddenly, her shoulders rose up from their usual, unconfident sagging and she stood up straight, meeting Tsuna with willingness.

* * *

Meanwhile, downstairs, Nana picked up the phone and began to dial it, smiling when she could hear Tsuna's voice as he attempted to open up to their new guest and the soft pitter-patter of tiny feet on the next floor echoed in the silent house.

As the phone rang in her ear, Nana smiled to herself and thought about how great it could be to tell Iemitsu about the little child who had come to the door, and when he picked up with the usual 'what's shakin', bacon?', Nana let him in on the little secret:

"Iemitsu, there's a little girl at our house and she's just so adorable!"

Nana half expected Iemitsu, that loving husband of hers, to laugh heartily and agree with her, but the dark tone that he used was unprecedented:

"Little girl?"

* * *

Kinda a cliffie, not too much, though… I dunno… o.o

Such exposition, very boring… sorry guys… we need to get through some background stuff first before we get rolling, though! (We're almost there, bear with me pls) (Get it, bear?) (C'mon, that was gold) (I'm so full of jokes today, geez)

Also, this is sort of a side-story as I am currently working on a different work primarily, so updates should *should* be scattered. xD

Much promo for **Flowers**, yeah? (Some of you whom I do know who read it… thanks for stopping by, tee-hee :3)

**Reviews now being answered by PM, thank you! :D**

~Teafully~


	3. Homecoming

Wow, guys! It's been so long with this one, and because summer has begun and we're going to finally get past this particular chapter… we're good.

So, many of you were perplexed about last chapter, and it's safe to say that the confusion may or may not be over because character development and fundamental things have to take place before important things take place… yeah…

~AYEEE~

* * *

_Flashback:_

_Nana half expected Iemitsu, that loving husband of hers, to laugh heartily and agree with her, but the dark tone that he used was unprecedented:_

"_Little girl?"_

Chapter 3: Homecoming

"Tsu-kun, your father is coming home for today!"

Nana yelled up the stairs as she folded her son's clothes. She had told him to be on his best behavior in the wake of their guest, as no alerts of a missing child had come up in the last two weeks. The girl was abnormal at _best_, and there were plenty of reasons why:

Eating was always a problem. She would _ration_ her food by eating very little at dinner time, but hiding it in various places around the house, preferably underneath her bed for Nana to find at a later time.

Then, there was her social aspect of things.

Evelyn didn't seem to know the _first thing_ about people. Tsuna was shy, but Evelyn was _different; _whenever there were people that she didn't know around, she would hold her breath or attempt to chew on Kuma any chance that she got.

Nana began to hum a happy tune, but it was cut short when her little bundle of joy that she called Tsu-kun hurried down the stairs, waving his arms around in delight.

"Tou-san?"

"Yes, Tsu-kun! Evelyn is going to meet him for the first time today!"

The thought of the phone call that Nana had with Iemitsu those few weeks ago stung briefly; she thought that her husband would have been so pleased with her for taking in a child in need. Never before had he ever used such a grim tone of voice with her.

Her immaculate smile must have dribbled off of her face for a moment, as Tsuna called her name.

"Kaa-san?"

"Oh, it's nothing. Go get dressed; your dad wouldn't want to see you in your pajamas!"

Her son ran right back upstairs in a hurried manner, tripping over his own little feet. Nana smiled at the sight and went back to folding the clothes that were hers, Tsuna's, and now Evelyn's.

With embarrassment, she remembered that shopping trip with the poor little girl; it was difficult enough getting her out of the house and to walk next to her on the street… but being inside the local mall was a totally different story.

Evelyn was _terrified_.

People seemed to be so foreign to her that she hid in the bathroom, between clothes racks, and even in dressing rooms just so she didn't have to look at the people around her. When she was asked why, Evelyn looked her in the face and told her that the innocent shoppers around her were staring at her.

"Honey, no one is staring at you," Nana had tried to take control of the situation, but Evelyn's cries of fear only increased. "THEY ARE, THEY ARE!"

It was a _nightmare_, but Nana left Evelyn at home with Tsuna that next morning to pick out pink and frilly clothes; it was like having a little girl of her own!

* * *

Tsuna stumbled into his room blindly, knocking a toy train over with his foot as he hurried over to his small dresser. Evelyn sat near the large window to the balcony nearby, and when he saw her, a large smile engulfed his face.

"Evie! My Tou-san is coming home!"

Evelyn looked up from Kuma, whom she had been petting endearingly with a comforted look on her face.

"Tou-san?"

Fear crept into her features at the thought. There would be another person that she had to meet and warm up to, and she already knew what a frightening experience that would be already.

Throughout it all, Tsuna's caring face stared at her from afar as he got a nostalgic look in his eyes.

"Tou-san is nice. I don't remember much, but he's nice. Kaa-san and Tou-san are in love."

On that last word, his face wrinkled up like he had tasted something foul or sour, but Evelyn ignored it for now. The only thing on _her_ mind was how she was going to warm up to the stranger.

* * *

"Tsuna! Evelyn! Come downstairs!"

The reigning call roused the two children from their simple game involving toy trains and Kuma as Tsuna hurried down the stairs while Evelyn took her time, watching every step as she put her foot on it; almost like she was suspicious of the stairs swallowing her up.

A man with blonde hair and a nicely-trimmed blonde tuft of hair on his chin sat at the dinner table, and Tsuna ran over to him, stretching his arms out:

"Tou-san!"

This man chuckled at Tsuna's touch and ruffled his already untamed hair as Nana gushed over the father-son moment.

"Iemitsu! Tsuna and I are so glad that you're home! How long do you think you'll be staying?"

Iemitsu smiled back at his wife, placing a pickaxe in his hand near the door while holding his son.

"I just got off of work… they gave me a three-day leave. I know it isn't much," he added when Nana turned away in dismay; she thought that she would have just a little bit more time with him before he went off to work abroad again. "I _know_ it isn't, but I'm just glad I was able to get off to see you guys!"

Evelyn watched all of this from the shadow of the stairs; she felt… left out. It was very possible that this family didn't need her, even though she had warmed up to both Nana and Tsuna in these last two weeks.

The feeling of unity between the three of them hit Evelyn in a place that she didn't know could be ruptured; her chest. Right in that vital organ that was associated with feelings and the desire to be accepted into something that she wasn't yet a part of.

"Ah-ha, there she is."

That deep, burly voice was smooth and soothing to her ears and her blue eyes refocused onto him. The honey-golden eyes of the man set themselves onto her as he stared at her from her perch on the stairs.

"What's your name?"

Evelyn's heart jumped into her throat when she opened her mouth to speak, but she couldn't. Nothing, not even a breath of air, came out. Her habit of holding her breath when strangers spoke to her was beginning to come back.

"Her name's Evelyn and she's living with us!"

Tsuna's brown eyes lit up like some sort of firecracker when he mentioned her and gave her a happy smile from afar, near Nana.

Evelyn was still glued to her spot atop of the stairs as this unfamiliar man stared at her with a friendly smile on his face.

"Evelyn, hmm? Where are your parents?"

Parents?

She didn't have any, did she?

Though Evelyn shook her head in denial, Iemitsu gave her an understanding smile. It was something that symbolized trust to her, as Nana had also shown her the same gesture.

"I see. Well, welcome to the family, Evelyn!"

The friendliness in his face was something that Evelyn had never experienced in the wake of a man that was not Tsuna. It was unfamiliar and different, even though it felt like it was a good thing.

The girl dragged Kuma's dark fur to her face and started to chew on his ear again, but Iemitsu reached out to the girl and lifted her into his arms, despite how much she protested.

Nana stared at the sight unbelievably; the worry and grimness that he had spoken to her on the phone with was gone and in the presence of Evelyn, he was all smiles.

"Iemitsu… can I talk to you for a moment?"

Nana asked, and Iemitsu gladly took the opportunity to put a squeamish Evelyn down as she and Tsuna ran off to play in another room.

When the adults were alone, Nana put her hands in her lap and began to squeeze them as she asked:

"What should we do with Evelyn? We can't harbor a child like this… it's not exactly legal…"

Iemitsu laid his large hand atop of both of her smaller ones and gave her one of his famous golden-smiles.

"I know. We should get it checked out, and if all ends well… we may be able to find her parents or become her parents."

* * *

Only a mere four months later was when it was revealed that Evelyn's biological parents had been killed four years ago in a deadly shoot-out.

What they didn't know was that they were both unsolved murders, and it left Evelyn in the care of police for a while until an unnamed hospital decided to take her in.

That hospital, Nana and Iemitsu decided, was the negative factor in her life that changed her… and with all of the court documents in order, they decided that they would become the positive factor to impact her life.

That day, Evelyn was known as Evelyn Sawada, and from that moment on, she was _officially_ a person, not a patient.

* * *

Don't even talk to me about the last part. I'm so sorry, I kinda just died and wanted to put this up after almost a month of procrastination.

You won't believe how long it took me to get this hunk of bs out of my mind. Hopefully, next chapter will go more smoothly… x.x

Thank you all for the seven reviews, guys!

**Next chapter, I have a time-skip planned… and then the plot will come. xD**

Thank you for reading and I encourage you to review! :DDDDD and don't forget to favorite/follow to show ya support! **Reviews will be answered by PM!**

~Teafully~


	4. Just the Beginning

Hey, how's it going? I've been so busy with Flowers that I haven't even really looked at this story.

The good news is… the plot has kinda begun, but at least we're in school in the present time. It was very difficult to write them as children… D:

**Also: this chapter is quite short, and I apologize! Next chapter has a lot of stuff planned, so this chapter is kind of a bridge-chapter, okay?**

~The show goes on~

* * *

_Flashback:_

_That day, Evelyn was known as Evelyn Sawada, and from that moment on, she was officially a person, not a patient._

Chapter 4: Just the Beginning

She was sure this year would be different.

Evelyn pulled her Namimori-Middle uniform over her head and straightened her uniform in her sea-blue room. The last ten years with her family, the Sawada's, made it easy for her to call their house a safe haven.

Every year at school, she had been ridiculed not just for being 'not normal' but for bringing her 'stupid stuffed animal' to class.

What those kids didn't understand was that she _had_ to bring him to class. After being diagnosed with multiple cognitive disorders, Kuma was her lifeline. Besides her older brother, Kuma was the only one who truly understood her.

"Evie! Hurry up; I don't want to be late!"

Speak of the devil. Evelyn sighed and picked up her small bag full of books and headed out into the hallway, where she met her older brother standing at the base of the stairs with some toast in his mouth.

Evelyn fixed her hair, which had originally been thought to be a white-ish hue but later grew out to be a very light blonde, and made her way carefully down the stairs.

Nana stood in the kitchen, cleaning up after making breakfast, and Tsuna yelled a goodbye to her as he and Evelyn walked out of the door and on their way to school.

"How do you think school will be this year, Evie?"

She smiled a small smile as she brought the dark fur of Kuma over her mouth.

"Don't know."

Tsuna had started to laugh but that laugh turned into a muffled scream as the two passed a neighbor's house who housed a small dog. Evelyn herself did not mind the pet much, as it never bothered her, but Tsuna always yelped at the sight of that dog.

After pulling her brother past the animal, he continued the conversation whilst rubbing the back of his head.

"I hope this year will be better than last year…"

Evelyn nodded in agreement. Last year was nowhere near bearable as Tsuna had moved to his first year in Namimori-Middle and she had to attend Namimori-Elementary for her final year. Of course, without Tsuna around, the bullying had reached a peak.

One day, Evelyn had been ripped away from Kuma and had had a panic attack as the mean children smooshed him into the mud and thrown him into the grass. It was a horrible experience and the children involved were not given any kind of punishment for putting her into such a traumatizing state.

"Evie, this year will be great!" Tsuna marveled, looking up into the sky like he normally did when they were on their way to school.

The duo had taken a turn left into the school courtyard and the heads of many older children appeared. All different hues of brown and black, even blonde swarmed the two. Tsuna took a big gulp and proceeded, but… Evelyn stood in shock.

People.

All of those people were standing in clusters around the entrance to the school. As much as it sounded like a cop-out, it _bothered_ her. At least in elementary school, there was a place where she could hide-out and avoid being stared at.

"Going to the bathroom." Evelyn shrugged off the awkwardness and scrambled to find a restroom in the sea of other people. She held Kuma tighter than usual to cope with the stress as Tsuna shouted after her: "Don't you want me to show you around?"

* * *

When Evelyn arrived in the restroom, climbing past people doing their make-up and hair, she found an empty stall and she leaned against the wall. Someone had taken a pencil to it and wrote in girly handwriting:

_Keep your head up; you're beautiful!_

Evelyn bit Kuma's ear again, sucking on it with all of her might as she muffled the need to cry it all out.

She wasn't beautiful and she sure as hell couldn't keep her head up. If anything, her motto was 'keep your head down, you don't exist'.

_Why is it so difficult to even go to school?_

She couldn't remember the last time she had gone out in a public place without feeling weighed down by the amount of people that could be staring at her. The poor girl couldn't even step foot out of her own house without feeling judged, and it had taken its toll since the beginning of her life at the Sawada residence.

_Tsuna doesn't understand._

While he has never been the most popular boy at school by any means, he never seemed to be embarrassed about existing. He never worried about the amount of people that could be potentially staring at him.

The bell chimed for school to begin, and Evelyn hung back from the restroom door.

If she went out there, she would be subject to the same kind of treatment that she had received last year from her peers. The jeers, the stares, the rumors… all because of the way she looked and her trustworthy friend, Kuma.

"I wanna go home…" Evelyn whimpered already, wiping her tears away on Kuma's soft fur.

No one else understood how she felt, and she thought about going to the nurse for 'symptoms' and hopefully faking her way out of it.

* * *

"You're fine, dear," the large, burly nurse spoke to her as if she had seen the entire case before. "You don't have a fever or anything. You're welcome to come back and take some medication if you feel any worse later today."

So far, Evelyn had made it out of her classroom for twenty minutes because of all the faking that she was doing. Kuma sat on her lap as she bowed politely to the nurse who had reluctantly treated her and she set off down the hall, carrying a pass.

_What will my classroom be like?_

She looked down at her schedule that she had put into her backpack's most accessible pocket.

_Class 2-A._

_Will people from my grade school be here?_

The thought was worrisome; if so, it would only be a repeat of last year with even worse repercussions.

* * *

This chapter was unexpectedly short, and I apologize for the length, really… q-q I wanted to update because I saw how long ago it was that I hadn't. Plus, next chapter has a lot of really intense stuff, so… I'm sorry for this disappointment.

Feel free to favorite, follow, and review!

**I'm going to start answering all reviews via PM because it's getting tedious to put them on the actual chapters… yeah. My bad guise. Thanks in advance for leaving me a review! :D**

~Teafully~


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